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US$1000 Dollar Budget, Which machine to get and where from?

Hi guys,

Maybe I'm going for a bit of an over kill here, I havent dont any stringinig before. But I have a 15 player club who will come to me for stringing. I don't want to waste money buying a begginer machine first and then an electronic one later. I my-self will use the machine often enough to make the buy justifiable to me.

My budget is US$1000 + or - a few hundred /- Which machine would you recomend as a best buy at this price range and where can I get it from to be shipped to the middleeast.

I roughly had your budget about 8 months ago. I ended up paying around $1300 US for a WISE 2086 Tension head and Pro's Pro Challenger. I mounted the WISE Tension head to the Pro's Pro Challenger and it seems pretty solid so far. I have strung over 50 racquets with it and still going strong.

I think the must-have is definitely the WISE Tension head, it is undeniably worth it for the price and the quality of the machine. As for the actual stringing machine, you have much more choice. I would reccomend the Pro's Pro Challenger as a solid beginning machine. Then again, I have not tried much else.

The only thing I would say is the Pro's Pro Challenger is a bit clunky, I would definitely like a slimmer machine in the far future.

In terms of where I got the stuff, I picked up the 2086 WISE Tension head from the direct website company, http://tennishead.com

It was about $900 to $1000 but with shipping, taxes, customs it came out to about $1300. Not too bad, I have already paid off the machine and my season starts in a couple weeks so there will be a lot of racquets to string.

One thing I would suggest investing in or making yourself is a stand. I put mine on a table and found that I had to bend over when stringing which caused soreness in my back. I elevated the machine to reduce the strain which works but it is not the best setup.

I roughly had your budget about 8 months ago. I ended up paying around $1300 US for a WISE 2086 Tension head and Pro's Pro Challenger. I mounted the WISE Tension head to the Pro's Pro Challenger and it seems pretty solid so far. I have strung over 50 racquets with it and still going strong.

I think the must-have is definitely the WISE Tension head, it is undeniably worth it for the price and the quality of the machine. As for the actual stringing machine, you have much more choice. I would reccomend the Pro's Pro Challenger as a solid beginning machine. Then again, I have not tried much else.

The only thing I would say is the Pro's Pro Challenger is a bit clunky, I would definitely like a slimmer machine in the far future.

In terms of where I got the stuff, I picked up the 2086 WISE Tension head from the direct website company, http://tennishead.com

It was about $900 to $1000 but with shipping, taxes, customs it came out to about $1300. Not too bad, I have already paid off the machine and my season starts in a couple weeks so there will be a lot of racquets to string.

One thing I would suggest investing in or making yourself is a stand. I put mine on a table and found that I had to bend over when stringing which caused soreness in my back. I elevated the machine to reduce the strain which works but it is not the best setup.

Hi There Jonster,

Thank you very much that was very very helpfull.

What do you think about going with the Pro's Pro XP Plus like Mark A said?

What do you think about going with the Pro's Pro XP Plus like Mark A said?

do you think it would be a worthy add on?

The Pro's Pro XP Plus looks solid, with a connected stand and a small platform underneath to place all of your tools. Mark A has loads more experience than me with stringing, a good head to listen to!

Two things, if you go with a drop-weight machine instead of the Pro's Pro XP Plus, you are going to have to buy a Drop-Weight adapter from the 2086 WISE site for $15-$25 USD I think. If you go with the Pro's Pro XP Plus, you won't have to pay for the drop-weight adapter.

Second, the picture of the Pro's Pro XP Plus comes with the 3-pronged base clamps (in the middle of the stringing machine) and the same clamps are also on the Pro's Pro Challenger but they are used for tennis. You are going to want to buy at least 2 more clamps specifically for the width of badminton strings. If you want, you can buy flying clamps WA326 or 5-prong Base-clamps WA3342. Look at http://www.watdon.co.uk/wd-strings/a...Clamps_13.html for reference. I am not suggesting you buy from watdon although I think they are pretty nice people but I am using this as a reference so you know what the parts look like.

I had the Pro's Pro XP Plus and Wise 2048 setup for just over 2 years and strung over 300 rackets. As Jonster said you need a couple of flying clamps ( I use Yonex ) and you definitely needs a pair of WA3342 for badminton rackets because you can adjust the the tightness easily by rotating the circular knob for different of strings. Initially, I have problem on mounting the Wise on Pro's Pro XP Plus, because I was given a adaptor that is not 100% fit. In additon, I have a bent nose plier; badminton awl; setting off tool; a pair of H blocks; a starting clamp; a string mover; a grommet grinder; a whole range of badminton grommets for various badminton rackets. I know it is a lot of things but it will make life easier. Up to now, Wise works perfectly without any problem. The racket frame supports works fine for me; I only use the narrow side of the supports for badminton rackets. From time to time, the supports block the grommets's hole, so you need to make sure you have a good look before you start stringing, otherwise it will be a disaster. On the market, there are some alternatives frame supports for badminton rackets, but I haven't try them yet. Overall, I will give 9.5 out of 10 for the set up. It still has some minor manufacter's fault, even a branded name has.

Maybe I'm going for a bit of an over kill here, I havent dont any stringinig before. But I have a 15 player club who will come to me for stringing. I don't want to waste money buying a begginer machine first and then an electronic one later. I my-self will use the machine often enough to make the buy justifiable to me.

My budget is US$1000 + or - a few hundred /- Which machine would you recomend as a best buy at this price range and where can I get it from to be shipped to the middleeast.

Thanks a bunch.

How many business you can get for a 15 player club? I am a regular stringer for 1 local club here, and we have over 100 members, and I can handle their demand via a drop weight machine with good quality. After 10+ years and over 1000 rackets, I did not break anything yet. My initial investment for the machine and tools, US$200...

If I charge same but do a better job with better string say I make $10 profit after about 100 string jobs I'll break even?

And the main reason I'm buying it is because I want to string my own rackets!

Oh and we have 25 now player now

Originally Posted by LazyBuddy

How many business you can get for a 15 player club? I am a regular stringer for 1 local club here, and we have over 100 members, and I can handle their demand via a drop weight machine with good quality. After 10+ years and over 1000 rackets, I did not break anything yet. My initial investment for the machine and tools, US$200...

If I charge same but do a better job with better string say I make $10 profit after about 100 string jobs I'll break even?

And the main reason I'm buying it is because I want to string my own rackets!

Oh and we have 25 now player now

But if you only need $500 machine, and can break even with 50 orders, why waste the other $500? Anyway, it's not my business. My point is, $1000 investment is kinda an over kill for a small club / personal use.

The more expensive machine has significant advantage only if:
1. Have a large quantity job to be finished in little time on a consistant base
2. Large percentage of extremely high tension (according to average club level) job, say 30+ lbs.

I just want an accurate machine to do the work. And my logic was if I'm spening $500 why not spend a a bit more and get something that much better?

It's mostly for my-self the money made from stringin for club members just to cover costs is only if possible it not a requirement.

I would love a compact unit that can do the job. I want something that can mesaure and do the tensions acurately.

What setup do you suggest for $500?

Originally Posted by LazyBuddy

But if you only need $500 machine, and can break even with 50 orders, why waste the other $500? Anyway, it's not my business. My point is, $1000 investment is kinda an over kill for a small club / personal use.

The more expensive machine has significant advantage only if:
1. Have a large quantity job to be finished in little time on a consistant base
2. Large percentage of extremely high tension (according to average club level) job, say 30+ lbs.

depends. i'd rather spend a few hundred dollars more for a nice WISE head. that will not only guarantee a better string job, and also means that i spend less time on the machine. anyone proficient can do a 30min or less per racket with a electronic head, compared to around 45min for a drop weight. that either translate to more time to do other things, or more rackets strung.

if you already have a target market, no doubt u will be able to recoup the cost. with 25 ppl who play actively you can probably do 100 jobs every year. that's $1000 already.

I am in a very similar situation as our OP, slair (similar motivation and budget). I want to be able to string my own rackets at 30+lbs and hopefully recoup initial cost by stringing for others. Kwun, can you provide links or more information on the setup you would buy? The only thing I worry about is location - not sure where to buy from being based in New Hampshire.